METHOD FOR TREATING LITHIUM ION BATTERY WASTE

Abstract

A method for treating a lithium ion battery waste according to the present invention is a method for treating a lithium ion battery waste using a converter furnace in a copper smelting process, wherein, prior to a treatment for charging a copper mat produced in a flash smelter in a copper smelting process into a converter furnace and blowing oxygen into the converter furnace to produce crude copper, the lithium ion battery waste is introduced into the converter furnace or a ladle that is used for the charging of the copper mat into the converter furnace and then the lithium ion battery waste is burned with residual heat in the converter furnace or the ladle.

Claims

1. A method for treating a lithium ion battery waste using a converter furnace in a copper smelting process, wherein prior to a treatment for charging a copper matte obtained from a flash smelter in the copper smelting process into a converter furnace and blowing oxygen into the converter furnace to obtain crude copper, a lithium ion battery waste is introduced into the converter furnace or a ladle furnace that is used for charging the copper matte into the converter furnace and then the lithium ion battery waste is burned with residual heat in the converter furnace or the ladle furnace.

2. The method for treating a lithium ion battery waste according to claim 1, wherein an amount of the lithium ion battery waste introduced into the converter furnace or the ladle furnace is adjusted such that an amount of material of fluorine contained in the lithium ion battery waste becomes an amount corresponding to 10 ppm or more and less than 35 ppm with respect to an amount of material of copper to be supplied to the converter furnace in the copper smelting process.

3. The method for treating a lithium ion battery waste according to claim 1, wherein the lithium ion battery waste is discharged to remove an electrolyte solution contained in the discharged lithium ion battery waste and then the lithium ion battery waste is introduced into the converter furnace or the ladle furnace and is burned.

4. The method for treating a lithium ion battery waste according to claim 2, wherein the lithium ion battery waste is discharged to remove an electrolyte solution contained in the discharged lithium ion battery waste and then the lithium ion battery waste is introduced into the converter furnace or the ladle furnace and is burned.

Description

EXAMPLES

[0061] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail be means of Examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following Examples at all.

Example 1

[0062] A waste product, which had been used, of a commercially available lithium ion battery was discharged using a known method and subjected to a detoxifying treatment, and a hole was formed in a battery case, and then an electrolyte solution was removed therefrom. Incidentally, the lithium ion battery was used as a raw material without the battery case or the like being separated.

[0063] Next, the lithium ion battery waste (raw material) which was detoxified and from which the electrolyte solution was removed was introduced into the converter furnace in the copper smelting process to perform the burning treatment. Herein, the converter furnace is in a general state in the copper smelting process, that is, a state before performing a treatment for charging the copper matte and blowing oxygen to generate crude copper, and is in an empty state in which the copper matte is charged. This converter furnace is in a state of holding heat by the repetitive operation of the copper smelting process. Therefore, by the residual heat, the introduced lithium ion battery waste was burned.

[0064] Further, the lithium ion battery waste was introduced by adjusting the amount of the lithium ion battery waste introduced into the converter furnace such that the amount of material of fluorine contained in the lithium ion battery waste became an amount corresponding to 30 ppm with respect to the amount of material of copper to be supplied to the converter furnace in the copper smelting process.

[0065] After the burning treatment, the copper matte was charged into the converter furnace, and a general treatment (melting treatment) in the converter furnace in the copper smelting process was executed, thereby generating crude copper.

[0066] In such a series of treatments, no trouble in the exhaust gas system of the converter furnace was generated at all. The reason for this is considered that, when the lithium ion battery waste is introduced into the converter furnace, the introduced amount thereof is adjusted on the basis of the amount of material of fluorine.

[0067] Subsequently, the crude copper generated and recovered from the converter furnace was molded into a purified anode without any changes. Then, the molded purified anode was charged into an electrolysis tank in which an electrolyte solution of a sulfuric acid solution (liquid temperature: 60 C.) is filled at a composition of a copper concentration of 45 g/L and a free sulfuric acid concentration of 190 g/L to form an anode, a stainless steel cathode plate was charged into the facing surface, and a current having a current density of 300 A/m.sup.2 was allowed to flow between the anode and the cathode, thereby electrocrystallizing and recovering copper on the cathode.

[0068] Further, the electrolyte solution after recovering copper was condensed, nickel was crystalized and recovered by crystals of nickel sulfate, further dissolved, and purified by a means such as solvent extraction to obtain high-purity nickel sulfate.

Comparative Example 1

[0069] In Comparative Example 1, similarly to Example 1, the lithium ion battery waste (raw material) was introduced into the converter furnace to perform the burning treatment, and then the copper matte was charged into the converter furnace to perform a general melting treatment in the copper smelting process. At this time, the lithium ion battery waste was introduced by adjusting the amount of the lithium ion battery waste introduced into the converter furnace such that the amount of material of fluorine contained in the raw material of the lithium ion battery became an amount corresponding to 50 ppm with respect to the amount of material of copper to be supplied to the converter furnace in the copper smelting process. Incidentally, the treatment was performed in the similar manner to Example 1 except for the above-described matters.

[0070] There was no influence to copper and nickel recovered after obtaining crude copper by the melting treatment in the converter furnace, but since the fluorine concentration was increased in the exhaust gas system of the converter furnace and exceeded an allowable standard at which the fluorine could be exhausted, it was necessary to suppress the amount of the lithium ion battery waste introduced into the converter furnace. In this way, the operation efficiency in terms of the introduced amount, operation stabilization, or the like was reduced.